Her Imperial Condescension basked in her hard-won glory. The Tyrian purple markings on her flanks glistened with a steady stream of water that puddled on the floor of the glorious cave. Her predecessor had quite a flair for the dramatic. Sparkling rocks and lush feathers drew her eyes to every corner, every inch of the rock's sea-smooth walls. The bright red blood of she who had gone before her mingled with brackish water at her neat paws, glistened on her unsheathed claws, drenched the silky fur of the body in front of her. A savage grin tore her mouth open, glistening fangs reflecting the artificial light of dozens of lavish jewels.
"I was expecting you."
Her head whipped around at the sudden voice, making the bones in her neck crack. She suppressed her wince and twisted her mouth into a snarl directed at the darkened crevice on one end of her cave. "Who dares enter my lair uninvited?" she asked coldly, grimly.
A laugh echoed around the entire sea cave, and it took tremendous effort for the she-cat to stay still. She wanted to thrash her head from side to side, cringing at the volume the cave forced upon his ghostly laugh. "I, my dear," the voice continued through the continuing strains of his laughter, "am Scratch."
A short, white cat padded calmly from the corner. No, not calmly- arrogantly. He had her cornered, and she knew it. Exhausted from her battle, she fought to stay in a commanding stance.
"You are not the leader here." His maw took on a smirk, a quirk of the mouth that settled on her like a ton of bricks. "Nor were any of the she-cats before you who took on the title of Her Imperial Condescension. You all serve my leader, the one who is to come after me. In the meantime," he continued, assuming the cool tone of one who knew the cat before him would do as he asked, "you serve me."
Her snarl quirked upward, and it was her own laughter that bounced across the cave now. Her cackles, amplified by the geography of her lavish den, didn't faze him at all. On the contrary, his smile quirked up a few notches. "You mean to say that all of my predecessors- the she-cats who have resided in this cave for seasons upon seasons and moons upon hundreds of moons- were all commanded by you?" Another wave of laughter took hold of her.
Scratch emerged fully into the light, and she caught a glimpse of the patterns that laced over his flanks. They were lime, gray, and red, doubtless made of berries none nearby had encountered before. Vivid lime streaks, bearing the same coloration as his bright green eyes, twisted around a gray staff in a double helix. The streaks- did they have snake heads?- were uniform and brilliant, clearly dyed by a very skilled olive artist. A gray U shape, interrupted by a red squiggle, could be seen on his right flank. "Yes," he quipped when her cackles died. "Yes, they were. I am an immortal, omniscient being, one who exists merely to serve he who will come after me. Your predecessor greeted me with the same incredulity, but she served me, as well. They all have. You will. The Condescension is merely a figurehead who answers to a higher being." He stated this evenly, with a uniform monotone, as if by rote. "Fish?"
The Condesce blinked, showing surprise in a single moment's slip. Fish? His tailtip waved ever so slightly at a flat stone, upon which was heaped the most succulent fish she had ever beheld. Jeweled scales sparkled, glazed eyes stared out of plump faces. She sidled warily over to the stone, scenting the air for signs of treachery. If they were poisoned...
"I can assure you nothing that can harm you is upon that rock." Scratch's eyes, showing nothing, hiding nothing, sparkled with amusement. "You will find me a very excellent host." She bristled, not at the thought of her moves being so transparent, but because he had claimed to be a host. Host?! This was her cave, her lair, her castle, if you will, and he had no right to claim to act as host to her.
Heated by her fury, she ignored the fish and spun on him. "I've put up with your games long enough. I should have killed you when you first emerged from whatever maggot hole you've been hiding in." She settled back on her haunches, face frozen in a snarl and hackles raising in a threatening pose.
Scratch refused to be fazed. His unmoving smile unnerved her even further, but it was his ear that caught her attention. It flicked twice, purposeful and deliberate, nothing about it that hinted at a reflex.
Fifteen cats filed into the cave from the crag behind him. Wherever Scratch had gotten his green dye, he must have had a lot of it, because each of these thugs were dyed completely green except for a colored number on their foreheads. She skimmed each of their faces, eyes snapping over each of them and sizing them up before moving on. An angry-looking medium-sized tom displayed a yellow number one. A blue number two went on the head of a slow-looking tom with blank eyes. A shifty-looking tom- come to think of it, most of them were toms- was crowned with a red number three. They went on and on, from number nine, a square-faced tough with a scratch over his eye, to number ten, a huge, cobby thug with a severe under bite. Alone, most of them would be easily dispatched, but together, she didn't stand a chance.
Suddenly she caught sight of the gang's only she-cat. It was impossible to tell whether her pelt was naturally black or dyed that way, and it was speckled with lime green stardust. On her forehead was a black number eight surrounded by a white circle. Her black eyes were cold, calculating, and confident to the point of arrogance. Their eyes met, and the new Condesce was forced to admit that if they ever did battle, the starry-pelted she-cat would have the upper hand.
"Fine," she growled, turning her gaze back to Scratch. The short tom's pristine white fur lay smoothly along his spine, completely unruffled. "You win. I'll do as you say."
His smile was so genuine it startled her. "Wonderful! You made the right decision." As if it had been her decision in the first place. "I will summon you when I have need of your... authority." Amusement dripped from that last word, and with that, they were turning and filing back into the crevice. Scratch sauntered off last, completely confident that she wouldn't spring on him, and the knowledge that he was right stung her more than anything.
I've had this idea in my head for a long time, and I'm finally going through with it! For those of you who don't know Homestuck, you can find it here. However, I don't recommend roleplaying here if you don't know it, because this fanclan includes- nay, is built upon- content that begins in Act 5 of Homestuck, otherwise known as Hivebent.
For those who do know Homestuck, this fanclan incorporates the blood color caste. This means there are eleven official rungs of the social ladder, completely based on familial ties and abilities. There are eleven sacred berry species that correspond to castes, each colored in the blood color of a canon troll. The cats' fur is patterned with these berries in eleven caste patterns [zodiac signs], which makes identification easy- something that is crucial to the cats' positions in the clan. Besides the caste pattern along thon flank, every cat has familial markings along thon flank.
Ranks [in ascending order]:
Dark red dye [Aradia, Damara]: Grunts, serfs, pariahs- whatever you want to refer to these as. Cats with the misfortune to be on this metaphorical rung do all the backbreaking labor. They are occasionally chosen by higher-up cats to be personal slaves. They often accompany hunting patrols for the sole purpose of scraping dust on the prey and guarding it, and can be called over- regardless of what they are doing- to pluck the feathers off a higher cat's bird before he or she eats. This caste is both male and female.
Purple/brown dye [Tavros, Rufioh]: These cats aren't so much serfs as forced knights. They are trained in battle from an early age and distributed to the higher cats or, failing that, to the General, who commands the army. Chocolate bloods make up the bulk of the General's army. They are masters at fighting, but are kept on a very short leash, so there is very little chance of rebellion. This caste is both male and female.
Yellow dye [Sollux, Mituna]: These cats, though very low on the hemospectrum social ladder, are highly valued among the higher castes. All cats with mental 'abilities', for lack of a better word, are painted with yellow berries. The cats in this caste are often culled if their abilities are contrary to the wellbeing of Alternia, i.e., a cat who ages backwards. However, yellow-dyed cats with abilities that aid Alternia, whether in battle or otherwise, are put to great use and often rewarded for their labors. This caste is both male and female.
Olive dye [Nepeta, Meulin]: These cats are the artists. They gather the berries and prepare the dye, which they use to paint stones and trees, as well as fur, with. Olive-patterned cats often accept commissions from other cats in return for extra media, such as a clump of particular ripe berries or a pawful of river stones, that they may be too busy to get themselves. This caste is both male and female.
Jade dye [Kanaya, Porrim]: These cats defend the Nursery, which is located underground [more on that later] and makes a prime target for predators, such as foxes and badgers, that live beneath the earth. Once Queens have kitted, they return to the surface, leaving the newly born kits in the care of jade- patterned cats. At twelve moons old, jade cats leave the sunlight forever and retreat to the Nursery, where they defend the kits until it is time for them to struggle toward the sunlight. This caste is female only, and fairly rare to be born into.
Teal dye [Terezi, Latula]: These cats are devoted to carrying out the law. They patrol the territory regularly, inflicting harsh punishment upon any who step outside the strict rules and regulations. The chief of all teal- patterned cats is respectfully referred to as His Honorable Tyranny [never Her Honorable Tyranny; while the caste is open to both genders, the chief is always male]. Teal- patterned cats often stage 'trials' formed around mockery and rigged to end in the defendant's death, invariably by strangulation. Many cats would rather spend the rest of their lives in slavery than be subjected to these trials. This caste is for both males and females.
Cerulean dye [Vriska, Aranea]: These cats are the pirates of Alternia. They live their lives for their own benefit, helping the nation raid a clan or group and then snatching the prey and baubles for themselves. Cerulean patterned cats often work in bands, with one leading the others and collecting the majority of the loot. These bands, though completely loyal to Alternia, usually make separate camps that do battle with each other. This caste is for both males and females.
Royal blue dye [Equius, Horuss]: These cats exceptionally strong, and thus are generally builders and executioners. They are often called upon to dispatch a cat whose usurp is too major to be delegated to lower colors. In extreme cases, they will serve as the executioners for teal-dyed cats' trials. As these are in short demand, their skills are more often put to use in constructing dens for the camp. They are often drafted by cerulean bands in the event that the bands' members cannot or will not make a camp for themselves. This caste is for both males and females.
Purple dye [Gamzee, Kurloz]: These cats are highly capricious [ha] and unpredictable. It should come as a surprise, then, that they are leaders of a sort, chosen by the highest dye caste to watch over their underlings and regulate them. They make most of the minor rules by themselves and create the major rules with approval from higher castes. Their rank is a clever move by the higher dye castes, though. Cats step lightly around the purple- dyed cats, who tend to slaughter mercilessly because of an absence of humor and decorate their faces with the blood of cats they've killed. This caste is for both males and females.
Waterproof purple dye [Eridan, Cronus]: There are two varieties of berries which grow underwater and whose dyes are waterproof. This caste wears one of them, a royal purple color, and is one of the two castes which swims and whose members spend most of their lives on a lavish island in the middle of a lake. Cats who wear royal purple dye are generals, leading Alternia's not inconsiderable militia, and are lead themselves by The General, akin to a deputy. This caste is for both males and females.
Waterproof tyrian purple dye [Feferi, Meenah]: This is the pattern color belonging to Her Imperial Condescension, otherwise known as The Condesce or simply The Empress. This pattern and color is almost exclusively reserved to one cat, as every cat born to this rank is slaughtered by her unless she manages to hide from The Condesce for long enough to challenge her. This caste is reserved for females.
All females with mates are required to mate within a certain time span, so the kits are all born at the same time. They leave their kits at three to four weeks of age and return to the sunlight without ever having caught a decent glimpse of their kits' fur. The dye they are patterned with is determined at this age, and their pelts are permanently colored with berries by olive-patterned cats who enter the caves at this time. Their familial patterns often bear no resemblance to those of the parents. At six moons, the kits all struggle to the surface without aid, evading the predators that jade-patterned cats formerly protected them from. About three-quarters survive each season. The kits emerge for the first time without knowing who their parents are, and very few ever find out. Each is taken in by someone of thon caste who has retired from their line of work (similar to an Elder). This cat teaches thon to perform the duties expected of their caste. They are guided in this fashion until they are promoted, which usually happens at twelve moons; then they perform their chosen duties and serve Her Imperial Condescension until they die. Jade- patterned cats usually retire at sixty seasons, or fifteen years, and leave the tunnels to live the rest of their lives in sunshine. These cats train the kittens with jade patterns.
The Condescension receives nine lives when she slays the former Condescension. More on that later.
Her Imperial Condescension strode purposefully along the cliff. She knew of only one group that could challenge Scratch and his cronies, and she had dire need of their help. She was in command here, and the very notion that she wasn't was insulting to her. And had a ring of truth to it; Scratch owned her power. She could try to fight them off and end her life, but that would mean a loss of her partial control. Besides, she couldn't leave Alternia to that monster. When she died, it would be at the paws of a successor. That much, she clung to desperately.
She had considered informing her fellow seadwellers about Scratch and ordering them to kill him and his group, but that presented problems of its own. If her aristocracy thought her weak, they would have her in their pads of their paws immediately. Alternians were vicious and cunning; it would be simple. She would pass from one captivity to another.
The Condesce entered a dark, run-down shack of driftwood on the beach, the kind of thing that no one noticed, no one cared about. It was out of the way, invisible, but easy to find. The cats here had made their living off of other people's secrets and dirty work, and she could offer them a handsome reward.
"Hello, boys," she called, and four huge black shadows heaved, transforming into cats. She ran her eyes over them: a huge train-like fellow; a lithe, cold manipulator with the eyes of a killer; a short, somewhat pudgy cat, or perhaps it was a kitten, who danced around in excitement; and the leader, a spiteful mercenary with a permanent glare. All had black fur, and all were toms.
"Lady Condescension," the tall, thin one purred, stepping forward. "Kind of you to stop by. We aren't harming anyone, I hope? You see, our way of life is-"
"I know," the Empress snapped. "You kill cats for a living. I mean to hire you."
"What in return?" the leader rasped, shooting out a paw to knock the capering kitten to the sand.
Her Condescension smiled. "Your own symbols."
"We have some already."
"Not painted on your fur."
The four stopped to consider this. After a pause, the tall one replied smoothly. "You would let us have our marks on our fur?"
She nodded. "Pink, red, and grey paint, wielded by the best painter in Alternia. This I can promise you. For Noir, an outline of a spade in grey." The leader nodded in satisfaction. "For Dignitary, a pink diamond." The speaker of the four, the tall one, smiled and inclined his head. "For Brute, a red heart." The huge, cobby cat nodded. "And for Droll, a grey club." The kitten squeaked and pranced in excitement until Noir's paw shot out, knocking him again into the driftwood.
Dignitary started to say something, but Noir cut him off. "We accept. Who d'ya want us to off?"
Her Imperial Condescension smiled, a hidden, sly smile, and began describing the sixteen cats who had cost her her leadership.
Ranks:
High positions aside, the ranks are:
Wiggler [kit]
First Tier [apprentice]
Second Tier [warrior]
Third Tier [queen]
High positions include, for the time being:
Scratch [behind-the-scenes leader] - Lakey
Her Imperial Condescension [leader] -
The General [deputy] -
His Honorable Tyranny [judge] - Rotclaw
Some castes have a limited number of cats that can be in them. These numbers may change if enough people join.
Tyrian Purple Heiresses = 3
1.
2.
3.
Jade Green Patterned Cats = 5
1. ~reserved for Lakey~
2.
3.
4.
5.
Scratch
There is only one Scratch, played by Lakey. His cronies, listed below, are free to be played by anyone. Please reserve the position if you want to play the character.
1. Itchy-
2. Doze-
3. Trace-
4. Clover-
5. Fin-
6. Die-
7. Crowbar-
8. Snowman-
9. Stitch-
10. Sawbuck-
11. Matchsticks-
12. Eggs-
13. Biscuits-
14. Quarters-
15. Cans-
Midnight Crew
Noir-
Dignitary-
Brute-
Droll-
That's it for the hemospectrum caste system. On to the territory!
WIP